U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,149, issued Jan. 23, 1990 ("'149 Patent"), discloses an addressing structure using an ionizable gaseous medium. Such an addressing structure may be used in a system constructed of data storage elements which addresses those data storage elements with the use of an ionizable gas. An example of such a system is a flat panel display, a video camera, or a memory system.
The system disclosed in the '149 Patent has an electrode structure which defines rows of channels, each of which is filled with an ionizable gas. Extending along the base of each of those channels are a row electrode and a reference electrode. The row electrode is electrically driven as a cathode, and the reference electrode is referenced to ground and acts as an anode when the row electrode is electrically driven as a cathode. When a particular row electrode is driven as a cathode, the ionizable gas in the particular channel which contains that row electrode is ionized, and the system operates as disclosed in the '149 Patent.
In manufacturing the electrode structure disclosed in the '149 Patent the yield is unsatisfactory for commercial purposes. The base of each channel of the electrode structure should have row and reference electrodes of relatively narrow widths in comparison with the width of the base. This is so because the electrode structure depends on light transmission through the bases of its channels, and the row and reference electrodes in each channel cannot unduly obstruct the passage of light.
It is easier to manufacture wide electrodes than to manufacture narrow electrodes. However, for many applications it is undesirable to compromise viewing quality by increasing the width of the electrodes. For such applications the use of narrow electrodes reduces the manufacturing yield, and thus increases the manufacturing cost, of the electrode structure. This problem is particularly acute for those applications in which a large number of channels, each with its pair of electrodes, must be formed.
There is thus a need to find a way of achieving a higher manufacturing yield of electrode structures suitable for use in a system of the type disclosed in the '149 Patent.